WOOSTER, Ohio – Ohio State University’s Secrest Arboretum will hold its first public bird walk since a tornado last year blew down more than a thousand trees there. It’s free from 9-11 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 12.
Cardinals, chickadees and other winter birds will be the focus. Northern visitors such as siskins and redpolls are possible too. Robins and bluebirds, despite the ice and snow, recently have been spotted there.
Leading the walk will be members of the Greater Mohican Audubon Society.
A Sept. 16 tornado caused major damage to the arboretum and its parent, the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (OARDC).
Secrest Arboretum Program Coordinator Ken Cochran said while about 30 of the arboretum’s 120 acres were devastated, the rest was generally and happily undamaged.
Meet at the Seaman Orientation Plaza on Williams Road, about 1.7 miles from the main OARDC entrance, 1680 Madison Ave., Wooster.
Call 330-464-2148 for more information.
Secrest Arboretum holds bird walks every other month and plant-related public events all year. Next is a Winter Walk on Feb. 28.
Birds, it turns out, mean a lot to a lot of Ohioans, who spend accordingly. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reported that in 2009 in Ohio, 2.4 million people watched birds and 3.5 million “wildlife-watchers” spent nearly $2 billion on travel and equipment.
OARDC is the research arm of Ohio State’s College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences.